Larry Ward, President of Political Media and principle organizer of Gun Appreciation Day, today released the following statement along with a video supporting a new project, EqualGunRights.com. The video, produced in collaboration with the Second Amendment Foundation, highlights the disproportionate impact of gun control laws on the African-American population, and how that discrimination leaves large groups unable to defend themselves, their families, or their businesses.

Do Michael Bloomberg and Rahm Emanuel want to Disarm African Americans and Hispanics?

Bloomberg and Emanuel may not have racist intents, but the gun control they are pushing has real life racial consequences.

"It doesn't matter where you live, whether in the city, suburbs or a rural area," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, "all law abiding citizens should be able to defend themselves and their families."

The Equal Gun Rights video spot, website and campaign (produced in collaboration with Larry Ward of Political Media -- The Gun Appreciation Day Founder) highlight the disproportionate impact of gun control laws on African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities, and show how it leaves large groups unable to defend themselves, their families, or their businesses.

The video shows citizens from different parts of the country commenting on their local gun laws, providing a vivid contrast between people who live in regions with laws that enable citizens to exercise their rights, and those who reside in areas with restrictive gun laws which typically have larger minority populations, including Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City.

"You won't see President Obama or his anti-gun cohorts admitting it, but the simple fact is that disarmament in America has historically been racially motivated. And as you can see in our short video, African-Americans and other minorities are still the primary victims of gun control legislation in America.

"It is unconscionable that in 2013 we have folks harboring a pre-civil rights era mentality that, whether intentionally or unconsciously, seeks to keep guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens just for being in urban, higher percentage minority areas. As civil rights leaders from Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. recognized, disarming a population is the first step to oppression. Dr. King himself was blocked by segregationists when he tried to get his concealed carry permit, because they knew equal strength to defend oneself leads to societal equality," Ward said.

"I hope that people across this country will join us at EqualGunRights.com and demand an end to the discrimination that still plagues this country. It doesn't matter where you live, or what kind of neighbors you have -- all law abiding citizens should be able to arm and defend themselves.

"As long as the President ignores the inconvenient truth that African-Americans and other minorities are the most vulnerable because of his gun control schemes, he is disrespecting the memory of the civil rights champions whose life work paved the way for his historic election. If our society is to truly move past the racial evils of our past, we must have equality in the basic human right to self-defense first and foremost."